Indiana high school football gets visit from the NFL Combine
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Forget about the name on the front of your T-shirt, Wednesday was not about the team.
The NFL Play Football Showcase at Pike High School welcomed 16 high school squads from around Indiana for a chance to compete in five of the drills seen annually at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
“Getting schools from (Class) 1A, 2A all the way up to 6A teams in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference with this technology is nothing you see every day,” said Scott Alexander, Camel assistant football coach. “You can sense the excitement from the players to the coaches.”
What sets these workouts apart is the timing technology developed by a man who doesn’t even watch the Super Bowl. Colorado-based mechanical engineer Mike Weinstein and his company Zybek Sports have been in charge of timing for the NFL Combine since 2012.
“We’re doing these across the country right now, but this (Indianapolis) is a great market,” Weinstein said. “They can compare how the workout times stack up, not only against their peers here but across the country.”
Carmel’s Alexander has spent summer on the road with Zybek Sports, running showcases for high schoolers from the top national prep football hotbeds.
“This is a great turnout here in Indianapolis, “Alexander said. “This is comparable to the numbers we saw at high school camps in Texas and Florida.”
One of the major perks for campers include an individual workout tape and official workout times that will be sent to college coaches around the country. Jeffersonville senior running back Kameron Fuller is one of the many on hand hoping to lock in a scholarship offer next season and he believes the two-day camp can make a difference.
“I didn’t think I was going to be one of the fastest in the 40-yard dash but I’m glad that I am,” Fuller said. “Everyone was good here and I like that competition.”
As Weinstein and Zybek Sports know, anything to land a spot playing on Saturdays is worth the work.